MXPA98004779A - Drinks which have stable flavor emulsions / turbies in the presence of conservative systems containing polyphosphate and low rubber levels of xant - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a beverage such as a drink of thiciluid juice having a stable / turbid flavor emulsion containing from about 0.005 to about 0.015 xanthan gum, from about 100 ppm to about 1000 ppm of a selected preservative. sorbic acid, banzoic acid, alkali metal salts thereof and mixtures thereof, from about 300 ppm to about 300 ppm of a food grade water soluble polyphosphate and from about 60 to about 99% by weight of added water having from 0 ppm to approximately 180 ppm of duration

Description

DRINKS THAT HAVE STABLE SULBOR EMULSIONS / TURBIES IN THE PRESENCE OF CONSERVATIVE SYSTEMS CONTAINING POLYPHOSPHATE AND BASS XANTANO RUBBER LEVELS TECHNICAL FIELD This application relates to beverages, especially diluted juice and tea beverages, which have stable-flavored emulsions and / or cloudy emulsions. This application is especially related to beverages having stable flavor emulsions and / or cloudy emulsions in the presence of preservative systems containing po iosphere.

BACKGROUND DB THE INVENTION Products of diluted juice beverage that have a cloudy or opaque appearance are well known in the art. The cloudy or opaque appearance of these diluted juice drink products is typically achieved by incorporating a beverage emulsion. The drink emulsions can be either flavor emulsions (ie, roporcior n l drink flavored and turbidee) or cloudy emulsions (ie, they provide - disturbance mainly). Both types of oil emulsions comprise an oil phase that is dispersed in a fa; e of continuous water, that is, they are emu 1? J ions of. "oil in water". This oil phase is uniformly perspired in a typical manner in the water phase. It is still in the form of fine droplets which give the beverage a cloudy or opaque appearance. Drink emulsions are unstable thermodynamic systems that have a tendency to transform to their original state from two immiscible liquids (ie, a two-phase system). Since the oil is the dispersed phase, it exists as substances which tend to separate, or "flocculate," adding to form groups, in the absence of weighing agents, the oil phase, which is lighter than the phase. of water, it can be separated and raised to the surface of the beverage container, this phenomenon is usually referred to as "skimming" and can manifest itself as a non-showy circle in Ó> 1 inside the neck of the bottle ( a condition commonly referred to as "nullification") or as a dusty "flocculent" on the rim of the bottle.Concerningly, the oil phase can be seen to bind colloidal particles heavier than the water phase, he which case the tase, and oil will settle in the bottom the recipient nr. c-. A 3 s c ation is usually referred to as i-o or ^ •• edim '? Nta.-:? "Because the turbid appears core sediment to the bottom of the bottle." To improve the stability of these flavor / turbid emulsions, you can add a thickener or combination of sspesant to the juice drink diiui c These include propylene glycol alginate, xanthan gum, pectin, starch, modified starch, gellan gum, and carboxymethyl cellulose, see U.S. Patent 5,376,396 (Clark), issued December 27, 1994 (formed beverage stabilization systems). from a combination of gellan gum and carboxymethyl iceulose which preferably includes propylene glycol alginate), US Pat. No. 1, 153.8, or 7 Jackmar.), issued August 7, 1979 (product sour containing fruit pulp consisting of sour juice or a fruit drink containing sour juice and a combination of gums consisting essentially of xanthan gum and arboximetiic iuloí-d sodium). These thickeners essentially stabilize the flavor / turbid emulsion by increasing the relative viscosity of the beverage of diluted juice, lies, that stabilizes the emulsion of knows r / '. ui tnia St or 3 thickeners can also affect go.d "se? bl'inertí -. ^ 1 .- 'abor and sensation of the drink, -.s ecialme > nt -? if quantities r e 1 a t i vaiev are required, e q r a c. of these thickeners. In this regard, xanthan gum is preferred because it imparts a relatively high viscosity in freezing strength to zero, which is typical during or after the drink, but the light cutting forces dramatically they provide an appropriate thickening character when a beverage is consumed. UnfortunatelyWhen adding the juice drink diluted to high levels, some thickeners, especially xanthan gum, can potentially destabilize the flavor emulsion / turoia. The ability to stabilize taste / turbid emulsions er. The diluted juice products can also be complicated by other beverage components typically present in the product. Such a component that is desirably present in the diluted juice beverages that are intended to be stored without effrigeration, for example, at ambient temperatures, is an antimicrobial preservative. The drinks of diluted juice, when they are exposed to m i c r oo ru n L s c s that can lose food, may orient an environment for microbial growth. Such exposure can, and VJ? Frequently it does, resulting from the inoculation, r .- .. cidental of the juice drink diluted during its manufacture or packaging (packaging). Microorganisms that spoil food then can proliferate rapidly by feeding on vegetables provided by the component of the diluted juice drink. The preservatives, such as sorbates, benzoates, organic acids and their combinations have been used in drinks of diluted juice to provide some degree of microbial inhibition. At effective levels to inhibit microbial growth, some of these preservatives may contribute to off-flavors for diluted juice beverages. Accordingly, it has recently been suggested to use certain food grade polyphosphates (especially sodium hexametaphosphate) to increase the potency of these preservatives to low levels in the diluted juice beverages. See United States Patent 5,431,940 (Boilers), issued July 11, 1995, which describes the use of antimicrobial polyphosphates, such such as hexametc: or sodium fat, with sorbate preservatives, such a cone of oothate, in the drinks of diluted juice having water hardness elativamena ja. However, it has been found that the presence of po ices, especially sodium hexametaphosphate, in combination with xanthan gum, can have a destabilizing effect on the emulsions of sac / r urbias used in the diluted juice beverages. While not limited by theory, it is believed that polymeric materials, which include sodium hexametaphosphate and xanthan gum, exist in a well-hydrated colloid state (ie, each polymer is a separate phase) when mixed with sufficient Water. Depending on the concentration of the polymeric material and its compatibility with other components in the beverage, each of these colloidal particles has its own unique tendency to the separated and aggregated phase in groups that exclude the droplets of the oil phase from part of the phase continuous watery As the droplets of oil agglomerate in the remaining available space, the speed at which they are added in turn begins to flocculate rapidly, causing the. ring and al Succeeding (-. r • :, •• / r-rn-to, otherwise it would be the case otherwise: it would be desirable to be able to "or". u *. r :: ebi as I have diluted that: (1) have enüi.ic: s ~ < e SIB,: stable / cloudy; (2) can be stored at ambient temperatures through the use of conservative systems that they contain polyphosphates, especially sodium hexametaphosphate, (3) have desirable mouthfeel, and (4) have no undesirable taste effects.

DESCRIPTION DB h INVENTION The present invention relates to beverage products, especially diluted juice and tea beverage products, which have stable flavor emulsions and / or cloudy emulsions. These beverage products comprise: (a) from about 0.2 to about 5% of an oil-in-water beverage emulsion selected from cloudy flavor emulsions and emulsions; (b) from 0 to about 40% flavor solids selected from fruit juice, tea solids and mixtures thereof; (c) from about 0.05 to about 0.015% xanthan coma; (d) from about 100 ppm to about 1000 ppm of a preservative selected from sorbic acid, acid or n z or. or, it is more alkaline of them and their mixtures; (e) an amount of a water-soluble polyphosphate effective to increase the antimicrobial potency of the preservative; (f) from about 60 to about 99% by weight of added water that has from 0 ppm to approximately 180 ppm of hardness. It has been found that xanthan gum alone, at these relatively low levels, is effective in providing unique viscosity properties without destabilizing the flavor or turbid emulsions in beverages that additionally contain polyphosphates. Other beverage stabilizers, such as carboxy ethylcellulose, may be included together with xanthan gum to positively impact viscosity and mouth feel without destabilizing the emulsions. Even without these other beverage stabilizers, low levels of xanthan gum impart a relatively high viscosity at near zero shear, it still thins dramatically to: * i shear stress to provide a proper thickening character for the beverage when it is' consumed. In addition, because it is included at relatively low levels in the beverage, the anthocyanin does not interact adversely with the polyphosphates that are included to increase the potency of the preservatives, such as potassium sorbate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A. Definitions As used herein, "Microbial growth" means an increase of 100 times or greater in the number of microorganisms that spoil the beverage in a beverage after an initial contamination level of approximately 10 cfu / ml. As used herein, "time of exposure to the environment" means the period of time during which a beverage product at 20 ° C (68 ° F) can effectively resist microbial growth following a 10 cfu / ml contamination with microorganisms that spoil the drink.

As eiin er. or. present, the term "comprising" means various components that can be employed concurrently in the preparation of the beverage 02, present invention, and the present "non-carbonated beverage" s. ion? i ic-.a., which contain less than one volume of a: b. p.ac.on All the parts, parts and percentages used herein are based on weight unless otherwise specified.

B. Beverage emulsions The beverages of the present invention comprise from about 0.2 to about 5%, preferably from about 0.5 to about 3", most preferably from about 0.8 to about 2%, of a beverage emulsion. The emulsion can be either an emulsion or an emulsion of flavor For the turbid emulsions, the haze agent may comprise one or more fats or oils stabilized as an oil in water emulsion using a suitable food grade emulsifier. Any -2 variety of fats or oils can be used as the agent of turoidez, cor _ -. «--- nai ':: ón c < .the fat or oil are suitable for food and beverages.It is preferred here: rssy oils that have been refined, hlar.quesc'o and desoderizado to eliminate bad flavors, rentr - suitable for use as agents of t. u t b-ic --- _. These include fats of the following fats, vegetable fats such as soybeans, corn, wingworms, sunflower, cottonseed, and canola. and seeds of rapeseed, nut fats such as coconut, palm and palm kernel, and synthetic fats, see U.S. Patent 4,705.69] Kupper, et al., issued November 10, 1987 ( incorporated herein by reference) for suitable grease or oil turbidity agents Any suitable food grade emulsifier which can stabilize the grease or oil turbidity agent as an oil in water emulsion can be used. Suitable emulsifiers include gum of acacia, modified food starches (for example, food starches modified with alkenylsuccinatc), anionic polymers derived from cellulose (for example, carboxymethylcellulose), ghatti gum, gum of ghatti modificaos, gon < of xanthan, tragacanth gum, gu = r gum, come and carob, pectin and their mixtures. See U.S. Patent 4,705,691 (Kupper, et al), issued November 10, 1987, which is incorporated by reference. The treated modified starches also contain cyclic hydrocarbon groups as well as hydrophilic groups, such as those described in US Pat. No. 2,661,349 (Cald eli HL) incorporated herein by reference), emulsifiers are preferred. to use cone in the present. Modified starches of octenyl succinate (OCS) such as those described in US Patent 3, 455,838 Arotta et al.) And U.S. Patent 4,460,617 (Barndt et al.), (Incorporated herein by reference), emulsifiers are especially preferred. The turbidity agent may be combined with a weighing agent to provide a beverage opacher that imparts a total or partial opaque effect to the beverage without separating it and without rising to the surface. The beverage opacher provides the consumer with the appearance of a beverage that contains juice. Any suitable weighing agent can be used in the opacifier of c ^ oidc. The oil. typical weighing c.s.s include ace; e vr? a e + a. b rom ao, macarel resin giicerolyester, gum arabic acetate isobutyrate, iSAIB) and other sucrose esters, gum-a-gum, col fcnia, elem gum, or ros ? r r iq? all experiences in the art. Other suitable weighing agents include polyesters of brominated liquids which are not digestible. The Powerful of the United States -1,705,690 (Brana ot al), issued and the 10th of November 1987, which is incorporated by reference. The t-urbi / opaque emulsion is prepared by mixing the haze agent with the weighing agent (for opaque emulsions), the emulsifier and water. The emulsion typically contains from about 0.1 to about 25% of the turbidity agent, from about 1 to about 20% of the weighing oil agent (in the case of opaque emulsions), from about 1 to about 30% of emulsifiers and from about 25 to approximately 97.9% of water, qua nt um sa tis. The particle size of the water insoluble components of the emulsion is reduced using a suitable apparatus known in the art. Because the capacity of the ..: - - emulsifying agents to maintain the ac ate ac uspensión is proportional to the particle size, sor. Suitable are emulsions of particles with diameters from about 0.1 to about 3.C. Preferably, the particles are approximately 2.0 microns or less in diameter. The most proffered is an emulsion in which substantially all the particles are 1.0 m or less in diameter. The particle size is reduced by passing the mixture through a homogenized, colloidal mill or turbine type stirrer. Usually one or two passes are enough. See U.S. Patent 4,705,691 (upper, et al), issued November 10, 1987, which is incorporated by reference. The flavor emulsions useful in beverages comprise one or more flavor oils, extracts, oleersins, suitable essential oils and the like, known in the art for use as flavorings in beverages. This component may also comprise flavor concentrates such as those derived from the concentration of natural products or fruits. Also terpenetable oils and citrus oils can be used in the present. Examples of suitable flavors They include sab res da ruca such as orange, lemon, lime and s i i i. s,. a o e s d = cola, tea flavors, coffee flavors, chocolate sa, dairy flavors and ores. Ecological flavors can be derived from natural sources - it is like essential oils and extracts, they are prepared in a synthetic way. The er ..... e ice ae sa.cor typically comprises a combination of ii verses flavors and may be employed in the form of an emulsion, alcoholic extract, or dry bean. The flavor emulsion may also include haze agents, with or without weighing agents, as previously written. See the Patent? US Pat. No. 4,705,691 (Kupper, et al., issued November 10, 1987, which is incorporated by reference.) Flavor emulsions are typically prepared in the same manner as turbid / opaque emulsions by mixing flavor oils (0.001). at 20%) with an emulsifying agent (1 to 30%) and water (oil turbidity agents may also be present.) Suitable emulsions of particles with diameters from about 0.1 to about 3.0 microns. They are approximately 2.0 microns or smaller in diameter.

Particles are ae aptrc-x imada-e-.ute 1.0 miera or smaller in diameter. "'sser.te -a: nuls' frica covers the particular flavor oil: to help prevent coalescence and to erode an appropriate dispersion.The specific gravity viscosity of the taste emulsion is regulated by the bread. 'empathize with the finished beverage, see the patent: United States 4,705,691 (Kupper, e), issued on November 10, 198", which is incorporated by reference.

C. Fruit Juice and Tea Solids The diluted juice beverages of the present invention, optionally but preferably, comprise flavor solids selected from fruit juice, tea solids and mixtures of fruit juice and tea solids. When the fruit juice is incubated, the beverages of the present invention may comprise Cl fruit juice at about 40%, preferably from 1 to about 20%, more preferably, about 2 to about 10%, more preferably from about 3 to about 6%. iCc or was measured in the present, the percentage by weight of the fruit juice is based on a fruit juice of 2 ° to 16 ° Brix intensity individual.) The: uco ae fruit can be incorporated into the drink as a cure, reduce -. or to fine powder or as a juice of intense intensity or concentrate. Especially preferred is the incorporation of the fruit juice as a concentrate with a solids content (mainly sugar solids) from about 20 ° to about 80 ° Brix. The fruit juice can be any sour juice, non-sour juice, c their recipes, which are known to be used in drinks of diluted juice. Examples of such fruit juices include, but are not limited to, non-sour juices such as apple juice, grape juice, pear juice, peach juice, currant juice, raspberry juice, wild gooseberry juice, juice blackberry, cranberry juice, strawberry juice, custard apple juice, pomegranate juice, guava juice, kiwi juice, mango juice, papaya juice, watermelon juice, melon juice, cherry juice, cranberry juice , pineapple juice, peach juice, apricot juice, plum juice and its mixtures and juice juices such as orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, grapefruit juice, tangerine juice and mixtures thereof. Other fruit juices and fruitless juices such as vegetable and botanical juices can be used as the component of juice of the products d drink not cbonated of the invention invention. When tea solids are included, the beverages of the present invention can comprise from about 0.02 to about 0.25%, preferably from about 0.7 to about 0.13 *, by weight of tea solids. The term "solids tea" as used herein, means solids extracted from tea materials including those materials obtained from the genus Cawellia including C. sinensis and C. assai ica, for example, tea leaves harvested recently , fresh green tea leaves that are dried immediately after harvesting, fresh green tea leaves that have been heat treated before drying to inactivate any enzymes present, unfermented tea, instant green tea and partially fermented tea leaves. The green tea materials are tea leaves, tea plant stems and other plant materials that are related and which have not undergone substantial fermentation to create black teas. Members of the genus Phyilanthus, catec or gambir, and the Uncaria family of tea plants can also be used. HE they can use mixtures of teas without fermenting and arcially f • - • i men aio, s. The tea solids for use in beverages of the present invention can be obtained by known and conventional solid extraction methods. The solids of L e thus obtained typically comprise caffeine, - - obromine, proteins, amino acids, minerals and carbohydrates. Suitable beverages containing tea solids can be formulated in accordance with U.S. Patent 4,946,701 (Tsai, et al), issued August 7, 1990, which is incorporated by reference.

D. Xanthan Gum and Other Thickeners The beverages of the present invention comprise xanthan gum as a main thickener and emulsion stabilizer. Xanthan gum is an exocellular heteropolysaccharide polymer produced by a fermentation process that uses the bacterium Xa n t h o ona s ca pe s t ri s. This polymer has five sugar residues (two units of glucose, two units of mannose and one giucuronic acid) with a structure of 1.4 linked with beta-D-glucose units that is identical in structure to cellulose. The xanthan molecule is Highly elastic and highly elastic to highly aqueous solutions, the viscosity is progressively reduced, the shear is eliminated, the viscosity is increased. It recovers almost instantaneously Before invented invention, xanthan gum is typically used at a level from approximately 0.3% in beverages to stabilize flavor / turbid emulsions. See U.S. Patent 5,385,748 (Bungei, et al. 1, 'issued on January 31, 1995. However, it has been found that the inclusion of xanthan gum at these levels causes an adverse interaction with polyphosphates that are included. also in the beverages of the present invention Of course, when it is added to levels in excess of 0.1%, the xanthan gum interacts very poorly with these polyphosphates to cause instability and flocculation in the emulsion This is especially true for hexametaphosphate of sodium, the preferred polyphosphate for use in the beverages of the present invention in. Therefore, xanthan gum is included in the beverages of the present invention Overage levels o 'os to avoid adverse interactions with Ir; poly (eg, hexametaphos) = "a de dic"), even at levels too high for: 1) stabilizing the flavor / turbid emulsion, and (2) imparting other desirable viscosity effects for The beverages, according to the invention, comprise from about 0.005 about 0.015, preferably from about 0.005 to about 0.01, of xanthan gum.At these relatively low levels, it is believed that xanthan gum it is not diluted sufficiently to monitor the separated phase, even in the presence of polyphosphates, however, it still has significant viscosity in a solution at rest, and may therefore contribute to the stabilization of the flavor / turbid emulsion. Beverages of the present invention may comprise other thickeners in addition to xanthan gum.These other thickeners include caboxymethylceiulose, propylene glycol alginate, gellan gum, guar gum, pectin, gum tragacanth, gum of acacia, locust bean gum, gum arabic, gelatin, as well as mixtures of these thickeners. (As noted in the above, many Of these optional thickeners, they can also function as emu i s i f i-d i: to stabilize the trio agent. the fat / cell in the beverage emulsion.) These other thickeners can be included in the beverages of the invention at levels typically up to about 0.07%, depending on the particular thickener involved and the desired viscosity effects.

E. Preservative System Containing Polyphosphate An important aspect of the present invention is to stabilize the beverage emulsion during the storage environment and until the beverage is consumed. However, components of the beverage, such as fruit juice or tea solids, can provide a hospitable environment for rapid robrobial growth, especially when stored at ambient temperatures. This requires the inclusion of a conservative system to prevent or delay such microbial growth. Accordingly, the beverages of the present invention comprise from about 100 to about 1000 ppm, preferably, from about 200 to about 1000 ppm, and most preferably from about 200 ppm to 100 ppm. roughly;; or ppm, a selected conservator ..e; : : to .; srrbic, benzoic acid, alkali metal salts! • - •. JS T, LL-.?OS and their mixtures. The conservative ia;: re * e c ging • > Í? select from sorbic acid, sorba or oot a s i, sodium sorbate and their mixtures. The most preferred is potassium sorbate. The drinks according to the present invention further comprise: the cation of a polyphosphate solube in water of foodstuff that is effective to increase the antimicrobial resistance of the preservative. What constitutes an "effective amount" of the polyphosphate to increase the antimic obiana power of the conservative, will depend on a number of factors, which: include the specific preservative used, the level at which the preservative is present in the beverage, the pH of the beverage, and the level of hardness present in the beverage. It is believed that polyphosphate increases the antimicrobial potency of the preservative by removing the hardness (ie, the calcium and magnesium ions) present in the beverage. This causes the microbes present in the beverage to lose calcium and magnesium, thus interfering with their ability to protect themselves from the antimicrobial effect of the preservative. The inclusion of polyphosphate in the drink at levels from "About 300 5 about 3000 ppm, preferably, from about 900 to about -'000 rpm, of; More preferably, from about 1001, to about 1500 ppm, it has been found to be effective in increasing the antimicrobial potency of the preservative. The fat-soluble water-soluble polyphoses suitable for use in the beverages of the present invention. They typically have the following general formula: MPO where n averages from about 3 to about 100 and each M is independently selected from sodium and potassium atoms, i.e. are mecha salts; alkaline of polyphosphates. Preferably, n averages from about 13 to about 30 and each M is a sodium atom. Specifically preferred are straight chain sodium polyphosphates (ie, each M is a sodium atom) where n averages from about 13 to about 21, eg, sodium hexametaphosphate. - The and polyphosphates selected acini sinei distically, or at least additively, to inhibit microbiological growth in the e ects of the present invention. This is particularly effective in the inhibition of yeast, which includes the bacteria Zygosa ccha rop and? Ba i l i i, resistant to the preservative and the ores are resistant to the tolerant preservative to the .. A? O. Even within the juice concentration specified for the beverages of the present invention (ie, from about 0.1 to about 40%), the H.I environment exposure times will increase with decreasing percentages:? of juice in the beverage, such as low concentrations correlated with ambient exposure times exceeding approximately 20 days, while higher concentrations of water tend to correlate with environmental exposure times of between approximately 10 and 20 days. The variations and concentrations of the preservatives and polyphosphates within the ango3 described herein can also impact .03 times of exposure to the environment. However, provided that the concentrations of juice, preservative, polyphosphate and Water hardness (and preferably alkalized water) are within the ranges mentioned for beverages, the exposure times to the environment will be at least about 10 ia.

F. Hardness and Alkalinity The beverages of the present invention also include water having a relatively low hardness, and preferably controlled alkalinity. Specifically, those due from the present invention comprise from about 60 to about 99% additional water, more typically from about 80 to about 93% water. It is mainly the hardness of this water component that, when used together with the preservative system described above, provides a pleasantly improved antimicrobial effect. In addition to the hardness, control the alkalinity of the agu =? added can provide some improvement in the antimicrobial benefit. The term "hardness" as used herein, generally refers to the presence of calcium and magnesium cations in water. For the purposes of the present invention, the hardness of the aggregate water component is calculated in accordance with the being; • ~ 1 d? ssociation or f 0 f f i c i a 1 Ana 1 y t i c a i l: -mi v r. AOAC) "- C oved in Official dethods _of lt ^ _-_? '-?' By the AOAC, ? rlmgton, go n ^, - > p f 27 - • - .. ': * - (14; .va., 1984), which and incoipoi e •; the essence by reference. Under the AOAC ii standards, hardness is the sum of CaCü-¡(mg / l) equivalents in water, which sum is obtained by multiplying the concentrations, (mg / l) found in the water. a entities' cations in the water by the factors.

The compounds that impart hardness to water are mainly carbonates, bicarbonates, sulphates, chlorides and nitrates of calcium and magnesium, although other compounds that: contribute to the polyvalent cations for water can also 18 impart hardness. F.1 is usually classified as hardness, it is normally classified as mild (i.Q-dQ ppm), moderately hard (61-120 ppm), hard. (121-180 ppm) and very hard (up to 181 pm) The term "alkali ad" as used herein refers, in general, to the presence of carbonate and bicarbonate anions in water. For the purposes of the present invention, the added alkalinity of added water is measured in accordance with the AOAC standards set forth in Official Methods of Analysis, published by the AOAC, Arlington, Virginia, pp 618-619 (14th ed. 1984), which is incorporated herein by reference.The standard of the AOAC "ritrimetic method for measuring hardness" may involve automatic titrators and pH meters, properly calibrated, or visual titration.The alkalinity is then calculated and It is expressed as equivalents of CaCO3 (mg / L) in the ex water component added.Compounds that impart alkalinity to water include carbonate, bicarbonate, phosphate, hydroxide and salts of potassium silicate, sodium, calcium and magnesium. the present i nvention, water added does not include water included on purpose in the drink? through others added materials such as, for example, fruit juice component. This added water comprises from 0 to about 180 ppm, preferably from about 0 ppm to about 60 ppm, and of higher preference from 0 to about 30 ppm of hardness. Excessive hard water can be treated or softened by known and conventional methods to reduce hardness levels to appropriate levels. The use of water can be used as the added water.A suitable method to soften the treated water involves treating the water with Ca (OH). This well-known method is more suitable and economical for water that has initial hardness. 100-150 ppm as calcium carbonate This softening method is efficient with raw water with less than about 100 ppm hardness Another suitable method for softening added water involves ion exchange operations This well-known method can be used To treat water that has an initial hardness of 50-100 ppm, such ion exchange operations have a wide application for both home and industry, and other methods can also be used to control the hardness of the added water.

The preferred amount ranges from about 0 to about 300 ppm, most preferably from 0 ppm to about 60 ppm of alk 1 • n idac. da ilc;? The unit can be adjusted to the preferred level by method of known or conventional water treatment. Suitable methods for adjusting the duret and alkalinity of the added water component are described, for example, by Woodroff and Phillips, Beverages: Carbonated & Honcarbonated, "VI I- ubiish.i.ng Co., pp. 132-151 (ed., 1981), and also by Thcrner and Herzberg, Non-alcoholic Food Service. Beverage Handbook, AVI Publishing Co., pp 229-249 (2nd ed. 1978), both descriptions are incorporated herein by reference. It is important that the hardness, and preferably the alkalinity of the added water, be within the ranges described in the foregoing. It has been found that the preservative system described in the foregoing, by itself does not sufficiently inhibit the subsequent proliferation of yeast and bacteria resistant to the acid-tolerant preservative. However, this same conservative system, when combined with the water quality antroies mentioned above, will inhibit this Subsequent microbial proliferation in beverages by up to 10 liters, typically at least about 10 days.

G. Acidity Babies of the present invention have a pH from about 2.5 to about 4.5, preferably from about 2.7 to about 3. 5 . This pH range is typical for noncontained beverages. The acidity of the beverage can be adjusted to and maintained within the range required by known and conventional methods, for example, the use of food-grade acidic buffers. Typically, the acidity of the beverage within the ranges quoted above is a balance between the maximum acidity for microbial inhibition and the optimum acidity for the taste of the desired beverage and the impression of heartburn.

H. Sweetener The beverages of the present invention can, and typically will, contain a sweetener, preferably carbohydrate sweeteners, more preferably rye- and / or di-saccharide sugars. Specifically, these drinks will comprise typically about 0.1 to about 0, more preferably about 6 to about 14%, of sugar solids. The ucares dulza is suitable include, maltose, sucrose, glucose, fructose, inverted sugars and their mixtures. These sugars may be incorporated into the drinks in solid or liquid form, but are typically, and preferably, incorporated as a syrup, preferably, as a concentrated syrup such as high fructose corn syrup. For the purposes of preparing beverages of the present invention, these optional sweeteners may be provided to some degree by other components of the beverage, such as the fruit juice component, flavorings, and so on. The preferred carbohydrate sweeteners for use in these beverages are sucrose, fructose, glucose and mixtures thereof. The fructose may be obtained or provided as a liquid fructose, high fructose corn syrup, dried fructose or fructose syrup, but is preferably provided as high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is commercially available as HFCS-42, HFCS-55 and HFCS-90, which comprise 42%, 55% and 90%, r espectivap.e- + • e r, o? : that of the sugar solids to be respec e co or f ct osa. The artificial or non-caloric sweeteners that can be optionally incorporated in these '- > drinks, so. or, in combination with carbohydrate sweeteners, include, for example, saccharin, cyclamates, acetosulfam, lower alkyl ester sweeteners of L-aspart il-L-phenylalanine (eg (aspartame, amidase of L-aspartyl-D -alanine C described in U.S. Patent 4,411,925 (Brennan et al.-), L-aspartyl-D-serine amides described in U.S. Patent 4,399,163 (Brennan et al.), L-aspartyl sweeteners -L-1-hydroxymethyl-alkanoamide described in US Pat. No. 4,338,346 (Brand), L-aspartii-1-hydroxyethylalkanamide sweeteners described in US Pat. No. 4,423,029 (Rizzi), ester and amide sweeteners. of L-aspartil-Df eniglicidae described in European Patent Application 168,112 (Janusz), published on January 15, 1986, and the like .. A particularly non-caloric, non-caloric, andulzante is aspartame. 1 • Other Optional Beverage Ingredients Those assigned in the present invention may comprise other optional beverage ingredients, including, other preservatives (eg, organic acids), colorants, and the like. These beverages can also be fortified with from 0 to about 110a of the U.S. eco mended Daily Allo ance (RDA of vitamins and minerals, with the proviso that such vitamins and minerals do not substantially alter the desired properties of beverages (for example, times of exposure to the environment), and in such a way that vitamins and minerals they are chemically and physically compatible with the various essential components of the beverage, especially vitamin A (for example, itamine A palmitate), provitamins thereof (for example, β-carotene), vitamin Bl (for example thiamine HCl) ) and vitamin C (ie, ascorbic acid), although it is understood that other vitamins and minerals may be used. It is well known that certain food grade polyphosphates, such as the polyphosphates described herein, may help to inhibit the inactivation of the ascorbic acid in the drink It is also important to note that the fortification with calcium, : r, agne. ?? It should be avoided since these cations can be attached to and inactivate the colifosfatc.

J. Preparation The cebicas of the present invention can be prepared by conventional methods to formulate non-carbonated beverages. Such conventional methods may include hot packing or aseptic packing operations, although such operations are not necessary to achieve either the stability of the beverage or extended exposure times to the environment, as described above. Methods for making diluted juice beverages, for example, are described in U.S. Patent 4,737,375 (Naket et al), issued April 12, 1988, which is incorporated herein by reference. The methods to manufacture beverage products. They are also described by Oodroff and Phillips, Beverages: Carbonated, &; Noncarbonated, AVI Pubiishing Co. (ed., 1981), and by Thorne and Herzberg, Non-Alcoholic Food Service Beverage Handbook, AVI Pubiishing Co. (2nd ed., 1978).

One method for preparing the juice drinks diluted herein involves making an organic concentrate, adding it to a sugar syrup containing the antimicrobial polyphosphate and xanthan gum (ton -, without other thickeners), and then adjusting the mixture with aaua , sugar syrup, and beverage concentrate to obtain the required acidity and material composition. All the added water used in such preparation must have, or be adjusted to, the required hardness and, preferably, be adjusted to the required alkalinity levels. In such a method, the beverage concentrate can be prepared by mixing with water (correct alkalinity and hardness) an acidulant (for example, citric acid), water-soluble vitamins, flavors including juice concentrate and preservative. An oil-in-water emulsion can then be added to the concentrate. The sugar syrup for use in the preparation of the beverage is prepared separately by adding the poiiphosphate and thickeners (including xanthan gum) to the water, then adding ascorbic acid and polyphosphate to the water, combining these mixtures with additional water and then adding sugar syrup (for example, high fructose corn syrup) to the mixture. It can Addional preservative to the resulting sugar syrup. The sugar syrup and the concentrate combine to form the beverage. The beverage can be adjusted with small amounts of added water, sugar syrup and beverage concentrate to achieve the required acidity and composition of the beverage of the present invention. Then it can be pasteurized, packaged and stored.

K Test Method: Environmental Exposure Times Environmental exposure times correspond to the period of time during which a non-carbonated beverage product at 20 ° C (68 ° F) can effectively resist microbial growth following a 10 cfu inoculation / ml with microorganisms that spoil the drinks. The term "microbial proliferation" as used herein means an increase of 100 times or greater in the number of microorganisms that spoil the drinks in a drink after an initial inoculation level of approximately 10 cfu / ml. The exposure times to the environment for beverages can be determined by the following method. The babies are inoculated with groups yeast-resistant preservatives containing at least four separate yeast isolates, including Zygosa ccha romyces ha i i i, and with mixed groups of tolerant, acid-free and preservative-resistant bacteria, including the Aceto Acter esaecie. All the yeasts and bacteria used in the inoculation are previously isolated - from preserved fruit juice drinks. The inoculated beverage products are kept at 20 ° C (68 ° F) for 21 days and the aerobic plate cultures are performed periodically. Aerobic plaque counting of both yeast and bacterial populations is done as described in the Co-pendium of Methods for the Microbiological Examinations of Foods, American Public Health Aseociation, Washington, D.C. (edited by C. Vanderzant and D.F. 'Splittstoesser), which description is incorporated herein by reference. These plaque counts are then used to identify the degree of microbial proliferation in the inoculated beverage.

EXAMPLES What includes the specific modalities of diluted juice beverages and the processes for preparing them, in accordance with the present invention.

Example I A cloudy emulsion is prepared using the following ingredient formulation: The above ingredients are mixed together in the indicated order and homogenized using a Model 110T Microfluidizer (Microfuidi Corp., Newton, Mass.) In a manner that produce a cloudy emulsion having an average particle size less than 1 μm in diameter. The beverage concentrate is then prepared using this cloudy emulsion and the following ingredients: The above ingredients are mixed together in the order indicated. A premix of the thickener is then prepared by thoroughly dispersing xanthan gum (Kelco Keltrol F) and carboxymethylcellulose (Hercules CMC 7HOCF.) In distilled water preheated to 37.8 ° C (100 ° F) in a ratio of xanthan with CMC with water 0.1: 0.5: 200. Another premix is then prepared by dispersing sodium ascorbic acid and hexametaphosphate (SHMP) of average chain length 13 (Monsanto Co., St. Louis, MO) in distilled water preheated to 37.8 ° C (100 ° F) in an acid to SHMP ratio with water of 0.3: 1: 587.2. The slurry and SHMP premixes are then combined in a ratio of 200.6: 588.5 to provide a combined slurry / SHS mix. The beverage concentrate and the thickener / acid / SHMP mixture are then combined with the following ingredients in the order indicated to provide a finished diluted juice beverage that is stable against significant flocculation or nullification, even if it is stored under ambient conditions previous to consumption: Example II A cloudy emulsion and the beverage concentrate are prepared in the same manner as described in Example 1. It is then prepared a premix of thickener by thoroughly dispersing xanthan gum (Kelco Keltrol F) and gellan gum (Kelco Kelcogel) in distilled water preheated to 37.8 ° C (100 ° F) in a ratio of xanthan with gellan with 0.1: 0.1 water: 200. Another premix is then prepared by dispersing ascorbic acid and sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) of average chain length 13 (Monsanto Co., St. Louis, MO) in distilled water preheated to 37.8 ° C (100 ° F) in a acid ratio with SHMP with water of 0.3: 1: 587.6. The premixes of thickener and SHMP are then combined into one. ratio of 200.2: 588.9 to provide a combined thickener / SHMP mixture. The beverage concentrate and the thickener / acid / SHMP mixture are then combined with the following ingredients in the indicated order and refrigerated overnight to provide a finished diluted juice beverage that is stable against significant flocculation or nullification, even if stores under environmental conditions prior to consumption: ' .'K '•. ».« (,;; •. ** r.

Example III A sufficient amount of diluted juice beverage described in Example II is prepared and then passed through a commercial high temperature short time (HTST) pasteurization unit (instead of being refrigerated). In the HTST unit, the beverage is heated to a sterilization temperature for a few seconds, then cooled to or below 15.6 ° C (60 ° F). The pasteurized beverage can be bottled and stored without additional cooling and will develop appropriate thickness at night, even when stored at elevated temperature (above room temperature, but below 87.8 ° C (190 ° F)).

Claims (6)

1, A beverage, characterized in that it comprises: (a) from 0.2 to 5%, preferably from 0.8 to 2% of an oil-in-water beverage emulsion selected from flavor emulsions and turbid emulsions; (b) from 0 to 40% of flavor solids selected from fruit juice, tea solids and mixtures thereof; (c) from 0.005 to 0.01%, preferably from 0.005 to 0.01a; of xanthan gum; (d) from 100 ppm. at 1000 ppm, preferably 200 to 1000 ppm, more preferably from 200 to 750 ppm of a preservative selected from sorbic acid, benzoic acid, alkali metal salts thereof and mixtures thereof, preferably potassium sorbate; (e) an amount of water soluble polyphosphate effective for. increase the antimicrobial potency of the preservative; (f) from 60 to 99%, preferably from 80 to 93% of aggregate water having from 0 ppm to 180 ppm, preferably from 0 ppm to 60 ppm, most preferably, from 0 ppm to 30 ppm of hardness.

2. a due, according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises cespedes 300 to 3000 npm, preferably from 900 to 3000 ppm, preferably higher, from 1000 to 150 ppm of the polyphosphate and where l. Polyphosphate has the following generic formula: (MPO,) n where n averages from 3 to 100, preferably from 13 to 30, most preferably from 13 to 21, and wherein each M is independently selected from sodium and potassium atoms, preferably, sodium atoms.

3. The beverage according to any of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that it comprises from 1 to 20%, preferably from 2 to 10% of fruit juice.

4. The drink, according to any of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that it comprises from 0.02 to 0.25 ?, preferably from 0.7 to 0.15% tea solids.

5. I drank it ..a, in accordance with any one of the re-nci ^ ac -n < ~ 1 i 5, acterizada because omorende -idic on. i Lire iterate from 0.1 to 20%, of preferential! S e '4% sugar sweetener.

6. The beverage, in accordance with any of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it has a pH from 2. to 4.5, preferably from 2.7 to 3.5.